Just wear what you would wear at home.  You can wear shorts in most bars but I’d stay away from the surf shorts, and with some descent jeans and tennis shoes clubs will usually let you in. 

Why would your clothes get destroyed? Lost, maybe. Anyway, I doubt you’ll see anyone at the local bar wearing surfer shorts, thongs and a wife-beater. Put on a shirt and some shoes!

Meh, I just wore a tshirt and jeans on my last trip. I don’t understand the point of bringing heavy clothes to get all dressed up for some place when you’re not going to wear them every day… and if you are, then you’re kinda wasting your whole trip, IMO. I can party in America, but I can only see the Oslo Viking Ship museum, or the Louvre, or whatever, in Europe… ya know?

“I don’t understand the point of bringing heavy clothes to get all dressed up for some place when you’re not going to wear them every day… “
 
Thats what I thought dude! Cheers for the comments, jeans and shoes it is[] 
 
8 weeks until I go, cant wait!!!!!

Hope you have a blast dude 

What tends to be the dress code in the upscale restaurants around Europe?  I’m not really worried about clubs cause I tend to stick to bars and pubs.  I could see myself wanting to try a nice restaurant or two during my trip.  I’m just trying to determine whether I should just only bring my jeans or to pack an extra pair of dressy pants and shoes. 

I would REALLY advise against it. If you’re just a regular backpacker like most people here probably are, it is very impractical to bring extra clothes (AND SHOES!!) that you think you’ll wear once or twice. Now if you’re staying in the Hilton every night and have a suitcase, then by all means []

This question is off topic, but let’s say your going out to a bar or restaurant for the night, would one bring his/her daypack (with valuables like an Ipod/Camera) with him/her or try to leave it locked up at a hostel??

Lock it up, man. I dunno about you, but in general bringing shit you don’t wanna lose to a bar just seems risky to me! Sure, someone could feasibly break into your locker, but whats more likely: someone banging the hell outta your locker to break in, or someone sneakily snatching your bag when you’re eating out somewhere?

Good point bro….How much does it typically cost to lock up your stuff overnight?

Well, mind you I’ve only been to Scandinavia, but most places I stayed had lockers; you only needed to pay if you needed to buy a lock that would fit (they were all made for the tiny locks; leave that good combination lock at home. I ended up throwing mine into Lake Mälaren after staying in 10 places and having it not fit even ONCE! hehe)
 
I did stay in two places that didn’t have lockers though. I just kinda “risked it” by leaving my stuff under the bed, but I always just brought my camera with me in my pocket. I figured, if someone really wants my dirty laundry and guidebooks that bad, they can have it But if I had a bigger camera, or more valuable shit, I would’ve just locked it up at the train station. Most (bigger) stations have lockers that you can rent, usually something like 1-4 dollars for 24 hours. Ive never used one, but every block of those things I saw reminded me of friggen fort Knox, so I’d assume they’re safe… no pun intended

I love bars and pubs, too.  But I still “dress up” a bit.  You can go to bars and pubs in shorts, as you please.  But a nice pair of jeans and a nice fitted shirt go a long way. Otherwise you’ll look sloppy.  I’m not saying wear club clothes or church clothes…no one in Europe dresses like that.  Just a nice pair of jeans and a fitted tshirt will do, with nice shoes, and you’re all good to go.  It doesn’t take much to look nice.
 
Are you really from Ireland?  I’ve never been there, and don’t know what the nightlife culture is like there.  Your question seemed very American/Canadian.